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WORD COUNT
626
JULY 1, 2009
WHITE AMERICA ON ITS LAST LEGS – by William A. Collins
Non-white
faces,
Got you
down?
In 30
years,
They’ll
own the town.
The target
date is now 2042. That’s the year when non-Hispanic whites will become
a minority in the United States. This prospect is as unnerving to many
Americans as similar numbers are to many Europeans, whose ethnic stock
is far purer than our own. Indeed Americans gladly boast some of the
most mixed ethnicity in the world, but we still mostly view ourselves as
a white nation (and like it that way).
Well, it’s
time to get over that. The Census Bureau projects that by 2050 whites
will be a mere 46 percent of the population, down from two-thirds
today. That’s because Caucasians here as elsewhere have vastly cut
their reproduction rate and are getting old fast. In Europe this has
led to population stagnation, since those nations are much stricter than
we about whom they let into their countries on a permanent basis. Given
the added stress of the recession, Spain is even paying immigrants to go
back where they came from.
Over here
it’s different. The joys of cheap labor have caused the U.S. to assume
a much more ambiguous posture toward immigration. Not surprisingly we
remain the only “white” nation that’s still growing like sixty. OK,
it’s slowed some with the economic downturn, but we’re expanding fast
anyway. And who are these new folks? Well, they’re like immigrants
throughout all history: young, energetic, hard-working, fertile…
So here in
Norwalk, while the overall population is only 28 percent minority, the
school population is 50-50. You needn’t be a demographer to see where
that’s going. Still, it’s not our country’s first time through this
script. Just ask the Native Americans. Or the Anglo-Saxons.
Successive waves of Irish, Italians, Poles, Germans, Czechs, Jews,
Chinese, etc. were once viewed in much the same manner as Latinos today.
Of course
there was one big difference. The newbies from all those diverse
European countries spoke a wide diversity of languages. That wasn’t
quite so threatening. All our Latinos however, from whatever country,
speak Spanish. To many natives that sounds like a conspiracy. They’re
ganging up on us. They have their own churches; they want schools
taught in Spanish; we can’t even converse with local workmen anymore;
but they can all talk to each other. Is this America!? And it’s only
2009. What will it be like in 2042?
Well, get
used to it, Sweetie. That’s how the world moves. Just be glad that our
huge demographic shift didn’t come from an invasion, the more common
historical experience. Think of how our African-American population got
here. We didn’t ask if they’d like a pleasant change of scene.
And viewed
in perspective, our current changes seem modest. Ponder the ongoing
population shifts from wars, floods, insurrections and Global Warming.
There are whole island chains in the Pacific looking for a new home, and
as the water rises in Bangladesh there may soon be tens of millions of
them at their real estate broker’s office. How many will we take in
here…after all, we caused it.
So yes, in
time (and maybe not much time) our faces will look far different, just
as we today don’t look that much like our Mayflower ancestors. But
don’t worry, we’ll still speak English. Assimilation works pretty well
on that score. And while there may still be a Chinatown, it won’t take
us over. Just calm down.
Our bigger
worry is the population total, not its make up. The Associated Press
recently claimed that a growing community is a healthy community. Ummm…maybe
not. The Chinese have got it right: there aren’t enough resources for
all of us the way we’re going, regardless of our skin hue. The future
belongs to those who can adapt.
--
Columnist
William A. Collins is a former state representative and a former mayor
of Norwalk, Connecticut. A photo of Bill Collins is available
CLICK HERE
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